Heat - Harry Styles

seven

"Stop it!" I scolded as I reached for the door to the car. Harry was sitting outside my house in a vintage Mercedes convertible, looking very pleased with himself. He had been honking the horn while I was walking out to meet him. The absolute last thing I needed was for my parents to hear him. Those two nosey southerners wouldn't have been able to help themselves from peaking out the window.

"Stop what?" he feigned innocence as he leaned on the horn once more. I rolled my eyes at his actions but was secretly happy to be back around his playful personality. After opening the car door I plopped myself down onto the leather seats which were already warm from the sunlight streaming into the topless vehicle. I glanced over at Harry as I buckled my seatbelt. He was wearing dark black sunglasses and an old looking baseball cap. Unfortunately for me, you could hardly – if at all – see his face.

"You're staring," he commented as a smirk grew across his face.

"You just look stupid in that hat," I reply, turning my attention to the road.

He laughed and shook his head a bit before accelerating down my street. It was another busy day in the city. Tourists lined the sidewalks, constantly starting and stopping as they studied the centuries-old houses. With the way they kept their cameras glued to their eyes, it was a miracle that there weren't more accidents involving pedestrians. They tended to forget that Charleston was an actual city, not just a massive museum.

"How was your lunch?" Harry asked, obviously trying his best to seem disinterested in the fact that I had just gone out on a date with a guy that wasn't him.

"It was good," I answered simply. "Spencer is a really nice guy – very funny. He's a lot different than he was when we were younger. But," I sang, "the best part about the date is that it'll shut my mom up for at least a week."

He laughed lightly at the mention of my mother and squeezed his bottom lip between his fingers before speaking again. "Good, I'm glad you had a good time."

"Not too good of a time," I snuck in casually. Some part of me wanted Harry to know that in my mind, Spencer didn't hold a candle to him. It was true that I didn't want to begin a relationship right now, but if I did, it would be with Harry, not Spencer.

He must have understood what I meant because he cracked a small smile before resting his hand right above my knee. This is what I loved about the friendship I was beginning to form with Harry. He really seemed to understand me. At this point, I attributed it to the fact that we were both artists. I didn't run into many creatives in my family's upper-class Charleston circle.

"Where to first?" I questioned.

"The first house we're looking at is just a 15-minute drive from here."

-

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"...and you'll notice that the high walls around the backyard give you plenty of privacy. You won't have any prying eyes while you're swimming or grilling. That's about all I have to say about this property for the time being. I'll step out front so y'all can look around, but feel free to come to me with any questions that may arise," the realtor said with a friendly smile. She was a sweet woman, probably about my mother's age. This was the fourth and final house she had to show us. Unlike the first few homes we went to, this one was only four or five blocks from my house. It would be an easy walk.

"Harry," I said when the woman was out of earshot, "how on earth are you going to afford a house like this for the entire summer?"

I might come from a wealthy family, but I'm very aware of what one of these homes costs to rent or buy. This house was only a bit smaller than my family's home... and I knew our house was not cheap. There was absolutely no way Harry would be able to afford something like this on a musician's budget.